


Abandon All Hope, Ye Who Enter Here

by sillyjasdero



Category: Monsta X (Band)
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe - Magic, Bottom Chae Hyungwon, Drama, HyungHyuk - Freeform, Implied/Referenced Suicide, M/M, Magic, Porn With Plot, Porn with Feelings, Sexual Content, Suicide, Top Lee Minhyuk, seven deadly sins au, shoot out
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-31
Updated: 2019-02-04
Packaged: 2019-08-11 13:40:28
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 10,312
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16476614
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sillyjasdero/pseuds/sillyjasdero
Summary: Pride and Lust have started sleeping with each other for stress relief, to kill time.But what started as a business-like agreement might end up unravelling some truths behind their whole universe.edit: supposed to be a collection of drabbles about the shenanigans in the Seven Deadly Sins household, but a wild plot bunny appeared





	1. Intro

**Author's Note:**

> title taken from Dante's Inferno, also works as a warning to y'all
> 
> members will often be called by the sin they represent:
> 
> Shownu - Wrath  
> Wonho - Sloth  
> Minhyuk - Lust  
> Kihyun - Greed  
> Hyungwon - Pride  
> Jooheon - Gluttony  
> IM - Envy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pride and Lust are sleeping with each other, Wrath is not surprised, and Greed is Envy's mother

"Hey Pride."

"..."

"Superbiaaaaaaa."

"..."

"Hyungwon! Hyungwonnie! Wonniiiiieeee--"

**_"WHAT?"_ **

"When will you let me fuck you on your throne?"

_In the background, Gluttony choked on his lunch. Wrath looked on curiously, not really surprised. Greed hissed "LUXURIA!" and attempted to cover Envy's ears. His hands were promptly swatted away._

_"I'm not a kid! And it's not like I didn't already know that they're fucking!"_

_"Yeah, 'cause you always have to know everything about everyone, don't you?" Sloth helpfully supplied._

_Envy grinned. "It's why I exist."_

Pride pretended to mull it over.

"Never." he said simply before returning to his book.

"WHAAAAAATTT? WHYYYYYY?"

"And if you keep whining, I won't ever let you come within a 5-kilometer radius--"

**"WONNIE!!!"**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> superbia = pride  
> luxuria = lust


	2. Limbo

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lust is a little shit, Envy is a little shit, and Pride is just so done

Their arrangement started with a fight.

Lust had strolled in late to their meeting as usual but Pride finally snapped.  
They've known each other the longest, but that doesn't excuse Lust's lack of respect, he had said.  
Lust tried to shrug it off and made a flimsy excuse. Pride was having none of it.  
He called his oldest comrade many names, recounted many of his transgressions in front of the others, and it was so bad that Wrath contemplated on stepping out of the room to ease his influence on their young king.  
Lust kept uncannily quiet throughout the whole ordeal. When their leader paused to take a breath, he asked, "Are you finished?" and was answered with a glare. Nonetheless, Pride found himself out of steam. Lust then took it as an opportunity to pull him by the wrist and out of the door.

"Should I follow them--"

"No need, Envy. Let them talk it out."

"Aw, Wrath, so innocent. There's no way they're gonna just _talk it out_ \--"

"He's been trying to get into Pride's pants since, what, that epic failure of a lay with Sloth?"

"Ha ha funny, Gluttony."

"Can we all drop this subject now? I think I'm gonna puke."

"Aw, Greed, so delicate."

"IN--VI--DIAAAAAA! I'M GONNA SHOW YOU 'DELICATE'!"

\------------------------

The door closed behind Lust with a tiny click.

"I know you think I'm stupid, which is sometimes true, I know, but whatever. I was somehow hoping that with all we've been through together, you wouldn't throw me under the bus like that--"

"Yeah you're stupid for thinking I wouldn't."

Lust stared at him with hatred he's never shown before. It made Pride swell with twisted satisfaction. It also made him burn inside with something else; something familiar, a little fire he's always felt towards the other but didn't dare stoke.

The next thing he knew, the small flame has become an inferno, and he had Lust's tongue down his throat. Their kiss was so messy it could hardly be called a kiss. They were animals licking, biting, scratching at each other with their teeth. They grabbed and clawed and carved ribbons into each other's skin. He found himself on his back, his spread legs shaking as Lust pounded into him like there was no tomorrow.

It was supposed to hurt.  
But Lust's eyes were glowing, and in Pride's half-crazed state he knew the other was using his powers to make the whole experience more pleasurable, to make him want more and more and MORE.  
It was the best excuse he could come up with for why he came so hard he blacked out.

He woke up with the thought that he had to be bleeding in places, but for some reason he didn't really care. That's gotta be the best sex he's had in years. In millennia.

"I should've done this a long time ago. I don't remember why I haven't tried."

"What, fucking me into submission?"

"Hah! That would take a whole lotta centuries and a whole lotta fucking."

Pride had no answer to that.

"Nah, I meant... we should've done this a long time ago, you know?"

"No, I do not know. You have to elaborate."

"I meant THIS!" Lust's arms flailed wildly between the two of them. "Releasing stress! See, you're back to your sassy self! I got to use my powers, you got to use yours--"

"No I didn't--"

"Yes, you did! It's what pushed me to perform like that! I felt like I could do anything!" Lust wiggled his eyebrows up and down. "Turns out we're veeeery compatible!"

Pride scoffed.

"I'm not letting you off the hook just because you're a good lay."

"I'm not a good lay, I'm great! Excellent! Perfect!"

"Can we please stick with the subject?"

Lust pouted.

"I'm sorry I was late today and all the other days before. Any reason I'd give would just be an excuse, but please know that I'll make it up to all of you by working harder."

He looked sincere enough; he had to be if he could meet Pride's cold stare for so long that Pride had no other choice but to look away first.

"Alright," he sighed, resigned.

He was met with Lust's gummy smile.

"Great! Now that that's out of the way..." the other man creeped closer, his hand disappearing underneath the sheets. "I know other things we can stick with."

Pride rolled his eyes but lifted his arms to wrap them around Lust's shoulders just as the other man hovered over him.

"You make the lamest puns."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> invidia = envy


	3. Envy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Greed takes joy in Pride's suffering, and everything is Envy's fault

"If you keep sighing like that, I will be obligated to ask you what's wrong."

Pride turned his gaze to Greed for a second before breathing out another heavy sigh.

"Okay, let's pretend this is not going to be awkward: spill."

The taller man exhaled again and plopped on the dining table before talking.

"Say... you want to get rid of a leech--"

"I'm automatically assuming the leech is Lust." Greed interjected.  


_"You want to get rid of a leech_... without hurting it, so what would you do?"

"All that sex tiring you out? Weakshit."

"Just because you haven't been laid in centuries--"

"Who said I haven't?"

Pride's stare didn't deter Greed's sleazy grin at the slightest.

"If you don't wanna have sex anymore, tell him. Or better yet: order him to stop bugging you. But seriously? I think it's good for you both. I mean, it's just sex, isn't it?"

Greed pretended he didn't notice Pride looking away and ignoring the question.

"It's just that... why me? I'm pretty sure he's flirted with everyone and can charm anyone into going along with his whims."

"You've known each other the longest out of all of us."

"So?"

Greed shrugged. "I dunno. But.. I think it works between the two of you because, one: you've known each other since who-knows-when, and two: your powers complement each other?"

"I complement all of you."

"Yeah, but together, you and Lust bring the best out of each other, you know what I mean?"

"No."

 _"Or you're pretending not to know, stupid brat,"_ Greed thought. It was his turn to sigh. He was low-key regretting ever asking.

"Okay, I'll give you reasons for why it's you and not any of the rest of us--"

"Yay, I'm the sacrificial lamb." Pride said in a dead monotone.

Greed levelled him a look.

"Wrath will burn him alive if he ever attempts using his powers on him. Then we have Gluttony who would rather eat his own foot than get into bed with him. He knows not to touch Envy lest I tear him a new one. And we all know the only reason Sloth had slept with him--"

_Greed did not miss Pride's minuscule flinch_

"--was because he's too lazy to fight back."

A beat of silence.  


Two.  


Then...

"And you? Have you ever slept with Lust?"

Golden eyes met cold steel.

Greed's answer was a smirk.

Pride rolled his eyes, sighed, and stood up to walk away just as Envy came swaggering in.

"That's for me to know and for you to find out! Why don't you ask him?"

Pride threw Greed a look over his shoulder.

"Are you forgetting who I am?," he asked coldly.  
Then he left.

Envy whistled the best he could while munching on a burger.

"Should I be worried about my position? That jealousy level was crazy!"

"Yeah I'm not you but even I could sense that."

"What'd you say to him? What's that all about?"

"Nothing. You just have to keep away from him for a while; you're rubbing off of him too much."

Bits of bread and meat flew as Envy spat out,  
"HOW IS EVERYTHING IN THIS HOUSEHOLD MY FAULT?!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> comments are greatly appreciated!
> 
> plstalktomeandletmeknowifthisshitisokay


	4. Gluttony

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There is something growing inside Pride

Everything was red.

He stomped away from the dining room, eager to get far from Greed and his questions.

His blood was boiling but he didn't know the exact reason for it.

"Oh, hey Pride--"

He immediately swung his fist backwards, caught Lust by the collar, pushed him down and promptly sat on his crotch.

In an instant, they've teleported from the hallway and onto the top of the other man's bed.

Lust, a little out of breath, looked up at him with wide eyes and a grin.

"Weeeeell, hello to you too!"

"Shut it with the niceties."

"I'm always nice when I'm about to get laid!"

This man and his irritating smile, Pride thought. He reached downwards to unzip the other man's pants.

"What, no foreplay?" Lust whined.

Pride gave him a condescending look.

"Your intimidation tactics don't exactly work that well when you have your fingers wrapped around my dick---AAAAAHHG!" the redhead screamed when Pride squeezed the tip of his erection.

"You already hard is exactly why we don't need foreplay," the taller man said. He lifted his hips just enough to take his own pants and underwear off and fling them away. He turned back to Lust and saw that he was looking at him with a strange expression. It seemed suspiciously akin to concern.

"Hey," Lust started, planting his hands on Pride's thighs. "What's wrong?"

 _Everything and nothing,_ Pride's mind supplied. _It feels like you're consuming me, and I know I should be scared but this feels familiar, comforting even._

But instead of answering, he slapped Lust's hands away.

"Hands off. If you move, I'll leave," he warned scathingly before looking away and arranging himself on top of the other. Lust had looked like he's about to protest, but eventually didn't push him.

Thorned black branches materialized out of thin air and wrapped around Lust's wrists.  
Pride raised an eyebrow at him.

"It's okay, it doesn't hurt." The redhead grinned assuringly as the branches attached themselves to the grills by the headboard, effectively trapping him. "All yours now."

Pride's chest tingled with something parallel with _"I wish."_

He dismissed the thought and focused on sliding down the other man's cock.  
Inch by inch he sheathed him, hissing at the stretch. He could never get used to the amazing feeling. The thighs beneath him trembled, straining to keep still as he took him to the hilt. He took a chance and looked at Lust's face. The man had closed his eyes, savoring the moment, but as if he felt Pride's gaze, he opened them.

"You good up there?" Lust asked, panting.

Pride answered by grinding down hard and smirking, eliciting a groan from the other. He began bobbing up and down in an excruciatingly slow pace.

"You're killing me..." The red-haired man moaned.

"Pfft, you're... aah... _immortal_."

"Yeah."

Did Pride imagine it? A flash of hurt had streaked across Lust's face. But in the next second that he blinked, the sad smile had disappeared.

"But you know they call orgasms _le petit morte_ so I guess it's fitting--"

"I changed my mind; one more word and I'm pulling off of your dick."

Lust grinned one last time before shutting his mouth and letting Pride take everything he wanted.

It wasn't enough.

Pride reveled in the feeling of the thick, hot cock inside him, bouncing on it, driving it harder and deeper into him with reckless abandon. But for some reason every stroke, every motion was not enough to satisfy him. The other man had taken his promise seriously and never moved an inch, didn't help Pride in chasing his pleasure.

He couldn't fuck himself on Lust's cock the same way Lust fucked him.

"What?" Lust asked breathlessly when Pride stopped moving on top of him.

"It's not... aahhnn..." Pride moaned as he tried once more, rolling his hips for delicious friction. He threw his head back in frustration. "N-not enough..."

"What... what do you want me to do, baby?"

He braved it this time and met Lust's gaze head-on. 

**"Fuck me."**

In a flash, Lust was free. He caged Pride in a tight embrace and licked his way into the other man's waiting mouth. They drank hungrily from each other, teeth, lips, and tongues clashing.

"This... is why... I'm Lust, not you." Lust groaned by Pride's ear as he pounded obsessively into the other, hitting his prostate ever single time, making him scream.

"AAAAHH!!! UUUHHNGG _M-M-MIN_ \--"

"You're so... **delicious**... **_FUCK!_** " He cursed as he thrusted particularly hard.  
He panted heavily as he pressed open kisses down the other's cheek, licked long wet stripes down his neck and collar bones. He grabbed his partner's ass with two hands and rammed into him repeatedly, impossibly harder, impossibly faster.

Pride was reduced to whimpers, hanging onto Lust's shoulders for dear life as they both chased their peaks.

And when it came, it came to them like tidal waves, slamming the breath out of their lungs. Pride surged closer, shaking violently, his untouched dick spraying both their chests with sticky come. Lust shivered, nuzzling into the other man's neck as he emptied himself inside him.

For a moment, only the sound of their breathing filled the room.

"You sought me out first this time."

"..."

"I think I wanna know why."

Pride scoffed. "I don't owe you shit."  
He then proceeded to pull away. Come trickled down from between his legs and he nonchalantly wiped it off on the bedsheet as he went to pick up his pants.

Lust didn't stop him, and opted to stretch back onto the bed, not caring that his dick was still out.

"Yeah but I wanna know so I can exploit the reason for next time--Oh wait, let me fuck you on your throne next time!"

"There will be no next time," Pride snarled before walking out the door slamming it shut.

Lust, unperturbed, smiled darkly.

"Oh, believe me, Hyungwon; there always is. You'll seek me out again soon."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yes the pre-nuptial photos killed me  
> holler if you're also dead


	5. Pride

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What's in a name?

"Say my name."

"Hnngghh..."

"Say it."

Pride's eyes flashed dangerously. "Why don't you beg first?"

"As if." Lust laughed and pulled out of him completely, making the other man whine in displeasure.

"Asshole." Pride cursed as he dug his fingers into his own palms. He tugged violently but his bindings won't give. Cursed Lust and his fancy thorns.

Lust chuckled.  
"I'm pretty sure I'm the dick in this relationship." He accentuated his statement by rubbing the tip of his cock against Pride's hole. "Come on. You want this, right?" He teased. "Say my name."

"Fuck you."

Lust pretended to think it over.  
"Hmmm, close, but not quite."

"Lust..." Pride growled.

"Nope!"

"L-lu...Luxuria---Ahn!" Pride jolted when Lust thrusted back into him with a smile on his face.

"Almost there! Ah... fuck..." The redhead moaned as he rolled his hips to grind deliciously into the other. "You can do it, come on..." He leaned closer so that they were eye to eye, their breaths mingling. 

The next words were merely a whisper.

"My name, Hyungwon..."

Hyungwon could swear his non-existent heart had stopped. The world stood still as they stared into each other's eyes. Nothing else existed, only he and the man above him, the man inside him in more ways than one.

If Hyungwon's heart did not exist, what made his chest hurt so much?

He averted his eyes.

"Shut the fuck up and fuck me..."

Lust scowled at the words, but the blond man wasn't finished.

"...Minhyuk."

The world began spinning once more, powered solely by the light of the other man's smile.

"Gladly, Your Highness."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> there's a plot bunny somewhere in this wild jungle I swear it came out of nowhere


	6. Limbo:Circle 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hyungwon is loved so purely

His skin burned with a fever unrivaled.

His gasps stuttered as long fingers slowly worked him open, as they prodded and pressed insistently on the bundle of nerves that had him writhing in ecstasy.

His mouth hung open as he frantically chased his own breath, delirious with mind-numbing pleasure.

"You feeling good, Won? I bet you can come just from this." His lover twisted his wrist just right, and his back came arching off of the sheets, a silent scream on his lips.

"No..." he protested weakly.

"Yeah? But you're already so close."

"No no no no. I want... I want to feel you--- **uunnggh...** " he pleaded. He pushed at his lover's arm and tried to squirm away.

Relenting, the other boy pulled his fingers out and captured his lips in an open-mouthed kiss.

"Are you sure?" he asked when they separated. "I can just get you off like this." His hand strayed downwards and gripped Hyungwon's cock loosely, gave him an experimental tug.

"No..."

"You can suck me off if you want; we'll try the other thing next time--"

Irritation flared inside him. He grabbed his lover's face and stared at him straight in the eyes. "I want _you_. I want you inside me. Do you understand?"

Fear flashed across the other boy's face.

"But... but what if I hurt you? I don't want to hurt you, Wonnie."

"I'm not going to break that easily." he stated. He closed the distance between them and let his lips and tongue convey what his words couldn't. His hands roamed, sliding up then down his lover's body, until he reached his cock. He gave it a gentle squeeze and played with the tip to coax him back to hardness.

"Nnnggh..." the other boy began thrusting slowly into Hyungwon's loose fist. Wanting to reciprocate, he slid his fingers back inside Hyungwon.

"Aah!"  
The dark-haired boy jolted out of their kiss. He threw his head back, closing his eyes, instantly lost in the haze of pleasure.

"You're so beautiful." his lover murmured against his skin.

"Hnngghh..."  
Skillful fingers pushed him towards the edge, demanded that he fall into the sweet abyss.

"Can you come for me like this, Wonnie?"  
He was so close, he couldn't control his own body anymore.

"You'd look even more beautiful when you come untouched."  
He could barely understand the words, but he could hear his heart screaming to be one with the other boy.

He opened his tear-stained eyes.

" _Minhyukkie. Put it in. **Please.**_ "

The white-haired boy stopped, captivated by the other's warm, loving gaze.

"Okay." he answered after several heartbeats.  
He knocked their foreheads together gently and took a deep breath. "Okay."

Hyungwon's skin prickled with nervous anticipation as the other boy arranged himself between his legs. His hand was grasped tightly, their fingers intertwined, his lover stared back longingly into his eyes and finally, _finally_ \----

**Pride bolted awake.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I swear it's gonna make some sense in the next chapters


	7. Sloth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Inception: Sloth and Pride-style

The sheets on Lust's bed are crisply new and pristine white. Beside him, they are also cold.

In his dream, the sheets had been old and torn and dark, but filled with warmth.

Pride stared emptily ahead, his bedmate long gone, trying to decipher the scenes he had seen while asleep.

Two lovers.  
He supposed he was meant to be half of the couple, but his dream self had dark hair. The other boy sported snow-white locks.

A declaration.  
_"I love you, Hyungwon. I love you very much."_  
A warm hand had cupped his cheek. The statement was accompanied by a bittersweet smile on a beautiful face.

His dream self had closed his eyes then, and said a single word.

A name.

He concentrated hard, but for the life of him he couldn't remember what it was.

Groaning at the incoming headache, he pushed himself up and off the bed.

It was time to see Acedia.

\------------------------

"I need you to do something for me."

Sloth was having a wonderful day until he had heard those words.

That morning he had dutifully influenced several high schoolers into skipping classes. Seeing a classroom half-empty was satisfying for him.  
On his way home, he had tampered with a random office worker's dream, thus having him stay in bed longer than necessary. The ensuing spat between the employee and his boss had Sloth skipping with glee.  
He had wreaked a kind of havoc that would make Wrath proud, and in turn avoided both Pride and Greed's disappointment.  
The sun had barely risen when he had gone home and straight to bed, with the thought that his gym routine can wait until later. He was very pleased with himself.

Not an hour later though, he was sat at the living room, staring at Pride's deep, dark under-eye circles.

The other man had come up to him and gave him an order, one he couldn't refuse simply because of pity. Their young king had looked dead on his feet.

Sloth personally thought the liaison between their leader and their resident troublemaker was mutually beneficial; what with Pride being more composed and less likely to snap at the littlest mistakes and Lust being a little less obnoxious than usual after their trysts. But looking at Pride right now, he wondered if he had to re-evaluate his thoughts. Was Lust perhaps feeding too much off of his energy?

_"Say that again? You want me to enter your dreamscape?"_

_"Yes." Pride had replied simply._

_"To do what? Just... watch everything and report to you after?"_

_"No, I want you to make me conscious enough in the dreamscape to observe with you."_

_"B-but... You realize we haven't exactly tried our powers on each other, right?"_

_"It's fine. Nothing bad will come out of it."_

_"My powers work on mortals but I don't know--"_

_"Can you do it or not?"_

_"YES I CAN! But you're not listening to me: there are so many ways this could go wrong! I'm trying to look out for you!"_

_Pride had been so surprised that he shut up and the condescending look dropped from his face. He had stared at Sloth with wide eyes._

_Sloth had sighed.  
"Look... I know we all have our differences. But in the end... You know... We're a family, right?" he reached out and placed a hand on the blond man's shoulder. "I don't want anything bad happening to any of you."_

_"Thank you, Sloth."_

_It was the dark-haired man's turn to be surprised._

_"I guess we don't always appreciate your efforts, but I am truly grateful for your presence. Thank you for being our protector."_

_Sloth began blushing._

_"I... T-that's... Well..."_

_"I've been losing sleep over some annoying dreams." Pride sighed. "I wanted them to stop, that's why I wanted you to take a look."_

_"Uh--"_

_"But if it will endanger me... if it will endanger you too... then I guess I'd rather stay awake the whole time." Pride stood up from the couch. "Sorry for taking your time."_

_"No! Wait! That's super unhealthy!" Sloth had protested and grabbed the other man's arm. He didn't see the small smirk that painted Pride's face._

_"Okay, okay. I'll help you. I'll take a look into your dream; but be warned, with me in there, some elements in your dream might change."_

_"It's alright." The blond man replied. **"It's what I'm hoping to achieve actually."** he whispered to himself._

_"Huh?"_

_"Nothing. Should we start then?"_

_"Yeah. And remember, it's your dream, so inside it you're more powerful than me. Kick me out and wake yourself up if you feel anything bad happening okay?"_

_"Okay."_

To say that what's happening now is bad is an understatement.

Sloth was stuck under a bridge inside Pride's dream, bleeding from a flesh wound on his arm, and being shot at by unknown men in dark uniforms. His powers were useless against them; in here he was as mortal as the humans the seven of them played with.

He was not sure why the bullets affected him; he was supposed to be the influencer, not the other way around.  
Maybe the dreamscape was different for special beings like them.

His wonderful day had decidedly become un-wonderful, he could not find Pride in the dreamscape, and he wondered if he could get out of there in one piece.

He should have gone to the gym first.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> acedia = sloth
> 
> I can't make summaries to save my life gdi
> 
> would love to hear what you guys think about the boys' powers!
> 
> thanks for reading!


	8. Lust

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The story of Minhyuk and Hyungwon is different from the story of Lust and Pride
> 
> or maybe they could be the same

He remembered almost dying, and after that all he remembered was Hyungwon.

Hyungwon, who, with trembling hands had shot the enemy holding him hostage, who had grabbed his hand tightly after and lead their mad dash for escape, who hadn't stopped running until they found a safe spot to hide away to.

Hyungwon, who had tackled him to the ground, had practically attacked him with a hungry kiss which he returned with equal ardor.

Hyungwon, who had chanted his name over and over again not unlike a madman as he worshipped his lips.

_"Minhyuk, Minhyuk, **Minhyuk**."_

With adrenaline rushing wildly through their veins they had frantically mapped each other's bodies with their hands, with their lips, with their tongues.  
Hyungwon had pressed their groins together, rubbed their clothed erections together in an almost rabid fashion, eager to get them both off as fast and as hard as possible.  
Soon enough, they both had a hand wrapped around their naked cocks, pumping madly for completion even as they rolled their hips to grind against each other. The proximity wasn't enough, would never be enough; they'd wanted to carve each other's beings into one another. So after they both finished with a cry, and his lover begged, _"Make love to me, Min."_ , Minhyuk obeyed and didn't stop.

He remembered not stopping even after making Hyungwon stain their uniforms with come three times.  
He didn't stop even through Hyungwon's tears and trembling legs, committing to memory the way Hyungwon's eyes rolled into the back of his head and the way drool flowed freely from Hyungwon's lips while he was lost in the pleasure of it all.  
He didn't stop until Hyungwon had come dry at least twice, and fainted.

And when the rush had ended and his lover had regained consciousness, they laid together sated and crying silently.  
It was the calm after their storm, when they were supposed to pick up the pieces.  
They exchanged no words, satisfied with listening to each other breathe.  
After brushing so close with Death, Minhyuk and Hyungwon had basked in the feeling of two hearts still beating for each other.

The same, however, could not be said for Pride and Lust.

"Oh no."

Lust stood by the doorway, staring at the scene before him.

Two of his friends lay unconscious in the living room.  
Sloth was sat on an armchair and Pride laid on the couch.  
But while the older man's chest visibly rose and fell with each breath he took, Pride's wasn't moving.

"No no no no..."

Lust sprinted towards his leader.  
Cold dread filled him even before he reached out to check for a pulse.  
There was none.

"Hyungwon, wake up!"

He pressed his palm flat against Pride's chest.  
No heartbeat.  
Frantically, he pressed his lips against the other's, as if a kiss would rouse him from his sleep.  
He brushed Pride's hair away from his face, rubbed his hands against his cheeks to incite warmth.  
Pride's skin was so cold, and nothing Lust did could wake him up.

"Don't do this..."

He could feel tears rolling down his face, but other than that Lust was starting to get numb with the pain.

"Not again... Not again!"

He sobbed into the unconscious man's chest, barely reigning in the urge to beat it with his fists.

After pain came numbness, and after that, anger.

If only everything had gone according to plan.

If only Pride had trusted him a bit more.

_If only nobody interfered._

He once had raised Hell for his lover, and he wouldn't mind doing it again.

Lust let out an anguished scream.

**"HOSEOOOOOOK!!!"**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> was supposed to update a few days earlier but I felt like the draft I had made can be the next chapter instead
> 
> so yay for more angst!
> 
> please share your thoughts on this, any kind of feedback would be lovely!  
> thanks!


	9. Wrath

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pride wakes up in a dream and Sloth almost figures out what's happening

_"You have to wake up, Hyungwon."_

He couldn't breathe.

_"Hyungwon, please."_

A weight settled beside him, partially on top of him.

_"I love you."_

A cold hand gripped his.

_"Please don't leave me."_

Pride opened his eyes underwater.

Gasping, he flailed wildly, pulled his head up to the surface to breathe in lungfuls of air.

He was alone in a bath tub filled to the brim with shimmering water.

He was disoriented. He had felt like he was dying, but that was impossible, right? He was immortal.  
But the feeling of Death's grip was so strong he wondered how he ever knew it if he had never died.

"Don't panic," he muttered to himself. "Calm down."

Brushing his hair off his face, he moved to get out of the tub. He was drenched from head to knees; having apparently been too long to fit, his legs had been propped up on the tub's rim.

He looked around to get a clue about where he was.  
The last thing he remembered was Sloth putting him to sleep in their living room, but the other man was nowhere in sight.

He assumed that he was inside his dream, but the bathroom he was in was unfamiliar (even though there was a painful tug at his chest whenever he looked at the bath tub), so he left.

The next room he went into was in shambles.  
There was a decrepit closet at the far end of a wall, an old television set in a corner, and books scattered all around the floor.

This, this was familiar, he thought.

He stared blankly ahead and tried to figure out how the two young lovers haunting his dreams fit into this scene.  
In the back of his mind he saw an image of two bodies writhing in pleasure in this very room.  
He brushed that thought aside.  
Instead, he imagined them sitting on the floor facing each other, having a conversation in low voices.

The black-haired boy boring holes on the floor with his gaze, unable to look at his lover in shame.

His lover, concern etched clearly in his features, reaching out a hand to touch his face.

Subconsciously, he stepped forward, and the mirage disappeared.  
In its place, a piece of white cloth remained.  
It looked like a mask, with holes for the eyes and mouth.

 _ **"Who did this?!"**_ came the white-haired boy's voice.

Startled, Pride whipped his head around but nobody appeared.  
He was still alone.

"It's a dream... It's a dream..." He shook his head as he mumbled before finally picking up the white mask off the floor.

The scream hadn't quite left his throat when he was pulled away from the room and into a new part of the dream.

\------------------------

"We have to find the others, hyung. Hurry!"

Sloth was still weirded out, but he followed the young men wearing Gluttony's and Envy's faces. He didn't know exactly what had happened: when he had stepped out of the cover of the bridge, he found himself suddenly in the middle of a battle field. No matter which way he turned and no matter how hard he tried to summon his magic, he couldn't get out of the dreamscape. Nor could he locate Pride to wake him up.

Envy had come barreling into him when it started raining bullets.

"What the fuck, hyung?! Don't just stand there! You're gonna die!" the younger man had shouted at him. He had hair darker than what Sloth was used to, but he could never mistake the sharp eyes and even sharper nose as someone else's.

"I... I'm sorry?"

"Changkyun, he must be in shock. Don't be too hard on him." Gluttony had said behind them. "At least we've got him still in one piece. Let's go."

Now they were cautiously treading the outskirts of a ghost town, looking for signs for Shownu, Kihyun, Minhyuk, and Hyungwon.  
Apparently, in this dream, Pride called his comrades using their human names.  
Funny, Sloth thought, when in the real world Pride was so uptight with using their proper titles.

"Let's split up." Gluttony, or Jooheon as he is called in this dreamscape, suggested. He gave them orders on where to go, which building to check, and where to meet up after.

He gave Sloth a stern look upon noticing the faint trace of fear on his face.

"You can do this, hyung. We just gotta round everybody up and then we can all leave this hell together."

Jooheon gave him a pat on the shoulder before leaving. Changkyun, after a few seconds of deliberation, gave him a tight embrace and a small smile and ran in the opposite direction.

\----------------------

Sloth's ventures into the first few buildings were uneventful. He hasn't met anyone, not even the previous enemies in black.  
After almost an hour of scouring the grounds, he had concluded that the town was pretty much abandoned by all except themselves.

The last home he went into however, was occupied.

He was peeking silently around corners, afraid to call out to the friends they were missing, when he heard a sob.

Heart pounding with trepidation on what he might see, he moved towards the sound, hands gripping the gun Jooheon gave him tighter with every step he took.

The sob had come from the bathroom.

From his point of view he could see the back of a young white-haired man sitting. He wasn't wearing the black uniform of the enemy soldiers, but he also wasn't wearing anything that indicated he was one of theirs.

A civilian then, thought Sloth.

"Hello?" he called out, then mentally decked himself. He shouldn't have been interfering with Pride's dream, but he had been so caught up in the mission to find the others that he had forgotten. There was also the feeling that the sooner he finds Pride, or Hyungwon as he is called here, the sooner they could get out of the dreamscape.  
He was so torn.

"Who's there?" the boy answered, turning to face Sloth's direction.

Sloth's heart dropped.

A younger, white-haired Lust stared at him.  
Or, to be more accurate, stared through him.

"H-hello--"

"Come out! I'm not scared of you!" Lust, or Minhyuk apparently, shouted, getting up to his feet.

Sloth looked behind him. No one else was there aside from the two of them.

What was going on? Why couldn't Minhyuk see him the way Jooheon and Changkyun did?

"They're here." Minhyuk whispered to no one.  
Sloth watched him crouch out of view, muttering things he couldn't hear.

Sloth walked forward to listen in.

"I'm sorry I'm weak. I'm sorry I couldn't protect you."

Minhyuk sat beside a bath tub wherein another boy lay.

"Please forgive me."

Even with Minhyuk blocking part of Sloth's view, Sloth was pretty sure the other boy was dead. If not because of Minhyuk's words, then because the boy's head was underwater and he was so, so still.

Curious about the boy's identity, Sloth stepped closer.

"I don't know how to live without you."

Minhyuk lifted the boy's head out of the water for one final kiss.

Sloth gasped when he recognized the dead boy's face.

"Pride--"

He watched as Minhyuk stopped a few centimeters shy of Hyungwon's lips.  
He watched as Minhyuk slowly turned towards him.  
He watched as Minhyuk stared back right into his eyes.

**"HOSEOK."**

The bath tub melted into unidentifiable swirls with Pride/Hyungwon in it as Minhyuk stood up to face Sloth. The bathroom went next as Minhyuk stepped closer, making Sloth take several steps back.  
The dreamscape was melting all around them but Sloth could only focus on the menacing look on Minhyuk's face.

**"HOSEOK, WHAT DID YOU DO?"**

"I--I don't..."

 **"WHAT. HAVE. YOU. DONE?!"** Minhyuk yelled.  
In an instant he had wrapped his hands around Sloth's throat. He squeezed hard.

"S-stop--" the older man choked, and swiped a fist at his attacker.

Minhyuk's face melted into a mist until he was just a headless entity but his grip was still strong and his chant had begun ringing in Sloth's ears.

"What have you done? What have you done? What have you done? WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!--"

"NOTHING! I DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT!"

**"--WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!--"**

"SHUT UP!" Minhyuk's wrists shattered into dust under Sloth's desperate grip.

And then, Sloth was falling.

Falling.

Falling.

He closed his eyes.

 **"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!"** Minhyuk's scream followed him.

"I DIDN'T DO ANYTHING!" he screamed back.

 **"LIAR!!!"** a deeper, huskier voice replied. It was a voice Sloth was familiar with.

He opened his eyes to find himself nose-to-nose with an older, murderous, red-haired Lust.

**"YOU FUCKING KILLED HYUNGWON, SO NOW I'M GONNA KILL YOU TOO."**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> man this became longer and took longer than intended, I'm sorry
> 
> happy holidays!
> 
> next chapter: Sloth Protection Squad™


	10. Violentia

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The world's foundations shake while Pride sleeps
> 
> The End is near

Envy was sensitive to sound.  
When the shouting had started, he was immediately roused from his sleep. He didn't bother getting up though, since the words were unintelligible to him, what with the argument being a few floors down. He had expected the others will sort themselves out. Same old, same old.

What he didn't expect was to be thrown off his bed.

He was pretty sure it was no earthquake.

He ran out into the hallway in panic and met Gluttony, who wore a grim expression.

"Wrath and Greed are out." the older man informed him.

Envy swallowed thickly.

A fight was happening downstairs and the eldest and the most level-headed (only after himself, if Envy can have a say in it) members are away. Great.  
Sloth's magic relied on stealth and doesn't have that much explosive power. And everyone knows that he was a softie despite his muscular build. He couldn't hurt a fly.

That means it must be Pride and Lust, two of the most stubborn beings in the universe, who were having a row down below.

And it was up to Gluttony and Envy, the two youngest, to control them.

This could end up badly.

If the two older men decided they were a nuisance and teamed up against them, they were done for.

"We can do this." Gluttony declared despite the anxiety written on his face.

If all else fails, Envy thinks he can have Gluttony swallow the two warring individuals and send them into another dimension or something.

With a nod at each other, they both steeled their hearts and headed downstairs.

\------------------

Human beings were pathetic and disgusting, Pride decided. He absolutely loathed them.

He laid, immobile, on a pool of his own blood, sweat, vomit, and tears, inside what he supposed was a laboratory. 

A torture chamber, his tired mind groused.

People wearing white gowns had entered the room earlier and did a series of 'tests' on him for hours. They burned him, sliced at him, tried to drown him, electrocuted him... He had wondered why his body had felt so weak, and upon a chance peek at a glass pane he had seen that he wore the boyish face of the Hyungwon in his dreams; only his hair was a dirty, dark blond instead of black.

He was human.

The dreamscape had turned into a nightmare for him.

He wished to move away from his own mess, but he was tied up in a straitjacket and he was drained of all energy. The best he could do was squirm.

He hadn't gone very far when alarms began to ring.

He heard frantic footsteps approaching, until the doors burst open and in came two of his abusers. They dragged another man inside, another victim, Hyungwon could tell by the straitjacket he wore.

"Get rid of them!" one of the men ordered.

The man nearest him grabbed a scalpel.  
Hyungwon tried to get away but couldn't.

"NO! HYUNGWON!"

That caught Hyungwon's attention, and his focus snapped onto the other victim.

Time seemed to slow down.

His face was familiar, he thought. He knew him.

The scalpel was brought to his throat.

Sharp cheekbones, thin lips, slightly eneven eyes always etched with concern for him.

Ah.

He had rich brown hair now.

The lover in his dreams.

_But what was his name?_

Before he could call out, his throat was slashed.

The other boy received a swift bullet to the head.

Hyungwon, gasping for breath and dying slowly, watched as his lover crumpled to the ground in front of him.

He watched as the blood from the gaping wound dyed his hair red.

It dawned on him then.

The name he always forgot.

The lover he's always had, but never remembered.

"Minhyuk?" he whispered.

Then he was swallowed by darkness.

\------------------

It wasn't a fight between Pride and Lust, Envy discovered.

It wasn't even a proper fight.

It looked like Lust was trying to pulverize Sloth, who was helplessly tangled in thick large vines that writhed every which way and filled the entire living room.

"LUST, STOP!!! WHAT'S GOING ON?!" Gluttony yelled.

Lust was the most easygoing out of all of them, and it unnerved both Envy and Gluttony to see him like this. 

**"HE KILLED HYUNGWON!!!"**

"WHAT?!"

"NO, I DIDN'T!!! HE ASKED ME TO HELP--"

"HYUNG, WE'RE ALL IMMORTAL--"

 **"THEN EXPLAIN TO ME WHY HE'S NOT BREATHING!!!"** Lust roared, and the vine holding Sloth slammed him through the wall and into the adjacent room.

Once Lust has set his mind on something, there was no talking him out of it. Not even Wrath would be able to stop him.

They were pretty sure all seven of them were immortal, but they've also never had a fight of this scale before. They've never had to use their powers against each other.

Lust might just actually kill Sloth.

Suddenly afraid for their comrade's life, Envy and Gluttony charged forward.

Envy snapped his fingers and some of the vines nearest him turned into snakes, slithering away under his silent command. He had to get Gluttony near Lust, but it was proving to be difficult as the vines just kept multiplying.

"Envy!" Gluttony called out to him. "Step back!"

The younger man understood his intentions and retreated a few steps.

Gluttony's human form melted and transformed into an enormous dark cloud.  
It began eating away at everything it touched. The numerous vines and thorns were no match for it. They were all absorbed by the thick miasma, making it grow larger, making Gluttony hungrier. He knew he had to control himself though; the plan was to subdue Lust, not eat him too.

He cleared a path for himself and floated towards Lust, who was walking towards a barely conscious Sloth.

Meanwhile, Envy had found the unconscious Pride in the midst of all the chaos.  
He was lying on the couch, underneath a protective dome of intertwined branches that Envy had easily transformed into garter snakes.

"Pride," he said, tapping the other man's cheek in an attempt to wake him up.

Just as Lust had said, their leader wasn't breathing and had no pulse.

Dread settled in Envy's stomach.  
He had always noticed Lust's lingering stares on Pride when the other wasn't looking. It was no ordinary longing.  
He had known Lust harbored feelings for their king, but he never knew they were that deep.  
If Pride was truly gone, then there was no stopping the redhaired man from destroying everything.

Breathing deeply, he pressed his palm against Pride's cold cheek and hoped his plan would work.

\--------------

Gluttony transformed back into his human form when he reached Lust, banking on the idea that the older man had a somewhat soft spot for him.

"LUST!"

Said man turned his head to growl at him.

"You can't stop me, Jooheon. Hoseok has to pay for what he's done."

"I---didn't do---anything---" Sloth panted on the floor.

**"SHUT UP! HYUNGWON'S DEAD BECAUSE OF YOU!"**

"Lust, look, whatever's happened to Pride I'm sure we can all fix together--"

**"DON'T GIVE ME THAT BULLSHIT, JOOHEON! YOU DON'T KNOW ANYTHING! THE ONLY THING WE CAN DO TO MAKE THINGS RIGHT AGAIN IS TO ALL DIE! _AGAIN! FOR THE FUCKING THOUSANDTH TIME!!!"_**

Gluttony gaped at him.  
"Wh--what---Lust what do you mean?"

**_"AND STOP CALLING ME LUST! I HAVE A PROPER NAME!"_ **

**"Minhyuk."**

Lust visibly jolted when a new voice called his name.

**"Stop this nonsense."**

The voice was as cold and as cutting as the winter wind.

Upon hearing it, Lust's eyes glassed over, and the vines slowly retreated from around Sloth.

Gluttony turned to the source of the command.

A few feet from them stood an unimpressed Pride.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> did anyone see what I did there? wink wink
> 
> on a random note, I'm excited for but at the same time can't freaking watch the "official" video of The Great Hyunghyuk Grinding of 2018 😂  
> I just might die of embarrassment
> 
> please give feedback!  
> comments are loved!


	11. Sycophantia

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There's a traitor in the house
> 
> _(He's a really, really, really, really, really bad boy)_

Gluttony stood rooted on his spot.  
Pride, the sole reason for this whole debacle, was alive and breathing. Where the fuck had he been the whole time?  
He felt himself grow irrationally mad.

"Pride---"

"Hyungwon?"

Before Gluttony could rip their leader a new one, Lust had stepped forward.

"Wonnie, is that really you?"

Pride gave him a nod.

A smile grew on Lust's face, and he brushed past Gluttony to get to their leader. "Won--"

**"Stay back."** Pride ordered, looking a bit uneasy, and Lust promptly stopped in his tracks. **"Care to explain what happened here? What did you do?"**

"I attacked Wonho. I guess Jooheon here came to rescue him." came the answer.

**"And why, pray tell, did you attack Sloth?"**  
The question was still directed at the redhaired man, but Gluttony noticed Pride's gaze flicker at him for a second.

"Because I thought he killed you!"

"We're immortal, Lust, we cannot die."

"Call me Minhyuk again! And yes, we can! It's happened before!"

Pride's brows furrowed in confusion, and this time he didn't bother hiding the stare he directed at an equally baffled Gluttony.

"What ever are you on about?" the blond man asked.

"We'll die if we use our powers against each other at the maximum. Do you want me to demonstrate? I've already had a headstart--"

"NO!" Pride grabbed Lust by the arm before he could go back to Sloth, who whimpered on the floor. "No, that's.. that's alright... You've done enough."

"Okay." Lust relented, and caressed the taller man's cheek. "I thought I've lost you again, Hyungwon."

Pride held his stare for a few seconds before averting his eyes.  
He had barely gotten out an "I'm right here." before he was enveloped in a tight embrace.

"My Wonnie." Lust sighed, and breathed him in.

Gluttony stood awkwardly at the side, unsure of what to do next. His mind still reeled from what had happened, and he still couldn't process Lust's revelation. All seven of them could die if they fought against each other at maximum power? 

He looked back at the couple now swaying slightly on their spot.

He found Pride glaring at him hard.

He frowned.

Something was off.

His leader's eyes would focus at Gluttony for a few seconds, flit to the side, and go back to the younger man.  
He repeated this several times, all the while nodding every now and then to the sweet nothings Lust whispered in his ear.

Confused, Gluttony turned to the direction Pride was indicating.  
There was nothing there except Sloth--

_"Gluttony!"_ came Sloth's voice inside his head.

Apparently, the injured man had also noticed the exchange.

_"What?"_ he answered weakly in his mind. Why could Sloth be using telepathy when they were right in front of each other?

_"Come help me up, and let's get away from here! Please!"_ Sloth begged frantically.

_"O...kay? Everything's good though. Pride's back! Why--"_

_"That's not Pride, Gluttony!"_

Gluttony's stomach churned. It suddenly clicked.

**_"That's Envy!"_ **

"Jooheon!" Lust suddenly called out.  
His hand had found Gluttony's shoulder.

"Y-yeah?"

"Would you believe it? Pride's heartbeat here is going crazy!" Lust grinned.

"H-huh?"

"You think he's started to like me back?"

'Pride' scowled. "Hey, don't get ahead of yourself--"

Lust's smile grew somewhat feral in Gluttony's eyes.

The gentle hand on his shoulder turned into a vice grip.

**"Or do you think he might be hiding something from me?"**

Gluttony could swear the temperature dropped a hundred degrees. He might also have forgotten to breathe.

A pause.

And then,  
"W-what could I be h-hiding?" 'Pride' tried, and reached out for Lust.  
A thin, thorned vine caught him by the wrist and stopped his movements.

"Weeell..." Lust began.

**"The fact that you're not Hyungwon, for starters?"**

In a blink of an eye, another vine had materialized out of thin air and wrapped around 'Pride's throat. It pulled him down to his knees in front of Lust.  
Gluttony tried to twist away but Lust dug his fingers into the flesh beneath his collarbone, making him cry out in pain. He too, fell on his knees.

**"You dare wear his face."** Lust growled, and with his other hand delivered a swift backhanded slap to the already struggling 'Pride'. His ring cut a neat line across the other man's cheek.

**"CHANGE BACK AND SHOW ME YOUR FACE, ENVY, OR DO YOU WANT ME TO PEEL YOUR SKIN OFF PERSONALLY?!"**

Heaving, the youngest man complied and discarded Pride's form.  
Envy was revealed to them, trembling violently in fear. He bit his lip in an attempt to stop himself from breaking down, but tears were already flowing from his eyes.

Lust sneered.  
"I knew you weren't him the moment you used compulsion on me. It's a shame that your copies only last a few minutes; otherwise, you easily would have been the most powerful among all of us, _Changkyunnie_."

Envy had no answer to that.  
His energy was slowly being sapped by the vines trapping him, much like Gluttony's who Lust was touching directly.

**"Let me show you how it's done."**

Lust's eyes glowed a deep red as he turned to the man he held hostage.

**"Gluttony, honey..."** He started sweetly.

Then he looked at Sloth, the murderous rage present in his eyes once more.

**"Please be a dear and devour Sloth for me."**

Gluttony's eyes glassed over and in an instant, he had transformed into the black cloud from before.  
Sloth could only curse as he too, transformed into white-ish smoke using the last burst of his magic, and tried to get away as quickly as possible.  
In smoke form, he was faster, but that didn't mean Gluttony was lagging behind.  
If he was caught, he was dinner.

Lust watched them for a few moments, cheering gleefully every time the miasma lunges forward at Sloth's wispy form, and moaning in disappointment every time it misses and dissolves a part of their house instead.

Suddenly, just as Gluttony was about to catch Sloth, a raging tornado of flames burst through the wall between them. It snaked around the black cloud and attempted to chain it into submission. Lust watched in fascination at the writhing mass of black and red and orange, until the miasma expanded wide enough and swallowed the flames within itself.

"Heh, nice try Wrath."

Satisfied with the display, Lust faced his other prisoner.

"Now, what punishment should I bestow upon you, dear Kyunnie? You've been a really bad boy."

He stepped forward, but before he could touch Envy, a shiny, glittering block came hurtling at him and hit him square in the face.  
Thin sheets of what looked like ice grew upwards from the floor surrounding Envy, and in record speed he was encased in a frosty dome.

Only, it wasn't ice.

It was a diamond barrier.

**_"Do you want to maybe pause and explain, Lust, or do you want me to slice you into ribbons first?"_ **

Behind Lust, the black miasma started glowing red from within, until it exploded in a shower of fire. The human form of Wrath appeared, holding down a subdued human Gluttony to the floor.

Lust spat out a tooth, and with blood running from his mouth, frowned at the newcomer in front of him.  
Hundreds upon hundreds of glittering diamond blades floated around his challenger, ready to strike any time.

**"You should have learned how to mind your own business centuries ago, Kihyun."**

The cavalry has arrived.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> members' abilities are based on the sin they represent:
> 
> Wrath - Fire, and *insert spoiler here*
> 
> Sloth - Dream Manipulation, Illusions, Telepathy, shape-shifting into smoke
> 
> Lust - Thorns, and Seduction, a milder version of Pride's Compulsion (he has to be touching the person he wants to compel), also can absorb energy through touch and his vines
> 
> Greed - Diamond Barrier, Diamond Knives, Diamond Swords, and he's good at handling money I suppose
> 
> Pride - Compulsion (his orders are unbreakable unless the victim dies or he lifts the order), and he has the ability to make other members' abilities stronger
> 
> Gluttony - shape-shifting into Miasma and *insert spoiler here but it's already somewhere in the previous chapters*
> 
> Envy - Shape-shifting, command over snakes, copying other abilities for a short time


	12. Mors Voluntaris

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pride keeps waking up to Death, but he is one step closer to all the answers

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> trigger warning: self-harm and suicide

Pride awoke to the sight of Lust lying dead on the floor.

No, not Lust.

_Minhyuk._

He found himself still inside the laboratory he was sure he died in, together with Minhyuk who stared at him lifelessly.

They hadn't even bothered closing his eyes.

 **"SLOTH!"** he screamed, flailing around wildly, still trapped in his straitjacket. **"SLOTH WHERE ARE YOU?! I'VE HAD ENOUGH OF THIS!!!"**

He was so confused.  
He didn't know why he kept having these dreams.  
He didn't know why he and Minhyuk kept dying in these dreams.

They weren't as vivid and as detailed as the current one nor the first, but oh, he now knew there were other dreams, a hundred other scenarios wherein he and his lover end up lifeless one way or another.  
He just didn't know what they meant.

He just knew that he has to go back to the real world, he has to go to Lust.

 **"SLOTH, WAKE ME UP!!!"** he shouted, but no one answered.

Lust must have all the answers.  
It must be why he had kept trying to get close to Pride.

**SLOOOOTTTHHH!!!"**

He'd screamed himself hoarse, but Sloth never came running.

His head hurt, his heart hurt, his whole being hurt just from being in the same room as a dead Minhyuk. He didn't want anything to do with this desolate place, where he was alone and cold, and the only companion he had was a dead lover.  
He wanted nothing more than to go back to his world, back to his comrades, back to where Lust is alive and can envelop him in a warm embrace.

It felt like an eternity before he found an escape.

The gun that was used to kill Minhyuk lay beside his lover's head. He could have chuckled at the irony: it was the same make as the weapon he preferred back home.

He laughed a little.  
The dreams must be getting to him, if he was planning to end himself to spare himself the pain. There was no guarantee that committing suicide in the dreamscape will take him back, but he was alright with it.  
He'd try anything to avoid the weighted stare his dead lover was giving him.

Hyungwon painstakingly crawled towards the gun and the other man, doing his best to avoid looking into his dead eyes.

"This is just a dream, just a dream..." he chanted to himself.

He took a deep breath before slamming his shoulder into the floor.  
He gasped in pain, but it wasn't enough.  
He steeled himself and repeated the action, whimpering every single time his flesh and bone met cement.  
His face was wet with tears and saliva by the time he had successfully dislocated a shoulder.

Heaving, he bit his lip as he pulled an arm out of one of the straitjacket's sleeves. Once free of the offending garment, he popped his own shoulder back with a hiss.

With trembling hands, he closed Minhyuk's eyes.

He picked up the gun and aimed it at his own head.

"I'll go back and fix everything, okay? Okay, Minhyuk?" he whispered.

Then he pulled the trigger.

\---------------------

Wrath was trying to come up with a plan, but multi-tasking was never his forte.

Gluttony had to be nearly exhausted, but he kept squirming underneath him, trying to throw Wrath off of him.

Envy was still inside Greed's protective dome.

Sloth was useless at the moment, having almost depleted all his power.

Wrath's energy was also slowly burning out.

Lust and Greed were duking it out several meters away from them, and at the rate things were going, the whole building will collapse on all of them at any second.

He looked at the raging red-haired man, studying him for a few seconds.

He had to make a decision.

"Sloth." he called to the man in the corner. "Hey, Sloth!"

Startled, the pale-skinned man turned to him with wide eyes.

"Sloth, I need your help. I need to get to Lust. I would have to leave you here, with Gluttony--"

"NO!" Sloth shouted, shaking with fear.

"LISTEN! Either that, or you bring Pride back from the dead!"

"How do you even know he's dead?!" Sloth countered.

"Lust wouldn't get that way if he weren't!" Wrath explained, but he too seemed confused. "He's always been... like that?" he finished slowly, eyebrows creasing in the need to understand

Even Gluttony was listening intently.

"Has Pride ever died before? Why do I remember Lust getting angry because of his death?"

"Wrath, what are you-- have you-- WERE YOU IN THOSE DREAMS TOO?!"

"What dreams?"

"Pride asked me to check his dreams, get into his head... I saw him dead, he drowned... but the dreamscape attacked me, _Lust attacked me!_ and all those never felt like dreams, they felt like... like **MEMORIES!!!** "

"Yeah, I know what you're talking about." Gluttony piped up, catching the two older men's attenttion.

"I've seen bits and pieces in my dreams too. I've even seen you there, Wonho-hyung."

"R-really? I saw you there too!"

"Yeah, I saw myself eating you!" the young man grinned, much to the other two's horror.

"So please excuse me, Shownu-hyung, I've got dinner to catch!"

With that, Gluttony used all of his strength to push Wrath off of him and lunge after Sloth, who was too weak to move.

"Fuck!"

Wrath was quick to latch onto Gluttony's leg, but he couldn't stop him from advancing and was dragged instead. He summoned flames to inflict pain and deter the younger man, but it was no use.

Gluttony had transformed into his demon form, a hulking mass of black skin and horns that couldn't be described with mortal words.

In front of Sloth, he unhinged his jaws and when he spoke, his words made Sloth's and Wrath's human ears bleed.

"It would be a joy ingesting you, Belphegor."

Before he could swallow Sloth and before Wrath could decide on changing too, a man-shaped crystal collided with the demon, slamming it into the opposite wall.

"BAD BEELZEBUB! BAD BEELZEBUB!" the crystal shrieked, all the while banging its fists against the demon's skull.

"ENVY?!"

"Greed really has to ease up on that momma mode of his; I nearly ran out of air in there! GO GET TO LUST AND GREED BEFORE THEY KILL EACH OTHER!"

"Understood." Wrath replied. "Sloth, back me up." He ordered and sprinted towards the battling pair.

"Excuse me, how?"

"JUST GO!" the youngest shouted at Sloth before transforming into his demon form.

Sloth, a bit dazed, half-walked, half-jogged away.

"I guess it's just you and me now, bro." 

**"You think you can overpower me, Leviathan?"**

"No, I **know** I can. There's a difference." Envy, in his giant snake-demon form, grinned.

\--------------------

This time, it was a room of mirrors and sand.

 **"WHY. WON'T. YOU. LET. ME. GO. BACK?!!! AAAAAAARRRGGHHH!!!"** Hyungwon screamed in frustration, beating his fists on the glass door.

He was locked inside, and there had been no recourse but to watch as his comrades died inside their own rooms. He had watched as Changkyun burned with the room full of gold, as Kihyun was beheaded in the room full of swords, as Shownu was poisoned in the room full of trees and plants. He never saw Wonho, but he's pretty sure the other had died of loneliness and heartbreak, being so far from them all. He watched as Jooheon watched everything happen, free and roaming up and down the hallway, but in the end the younger man had seemed so full of guilt that he had hanged himself.

Suddenly, the glass door to Minhyuk's room appeared across his.

Minhyuk was trapped inside a room full of pendulums, and he sported red hair just like the Lust of Pride's world, albeit a tad darker.  
He seemed lost.

"MINHYUK!" Hyungwon screamed.

The other man seemed to have heard him, and looked straight at him.

"No, not you too. Never you, please." Minhyuk said, and started crying.

"What?"

"Give him back." Minhyuk choked, and started tinkering with something in his hand. "Give him back!"

All the previous doors and rooms re-appeared, together with their friends who looked relatively unharmed.  
Until they all began dying again, one by one.

After Jooheon had hanged himself for the second time, Minhyuk looked at Hyungwon's door.  
His face crumpled in grief once more, and only then did Hyungwon realize what was happening.

Minhyuk must have seen Hyungwon die inside his room.  
And in Minhyuk's hand was a watch that could manipulate time.

**"NO! MINHYUK, STOP IT!"**

**"GIVE HYUNGWON BACK!!!"** the redhead shouted and the cycle re-started.

**"DON'T!!!"**

But Minhyuk wasn't listening to him, probably couldn't even hear him. He used the watch to turn back time again and again and again, so the others cycled between dying and being revived.

Seeing everything made Hyungwon's head and heart hurt.

He fell to his knees in pain, and his eyes caught sight of his reflection.

A mirror laid half-hidden on the white sand.

He reached out to grab it, and when he saw his own eyes, everything clicked.

There was one thing left to do.

He swept away the sand with his hands until he could feel the cool marble floor. He smashed the mirror against it, and picked up the biggest shard.

He took one look back at the despairing Minhyuk.

"I'm sorry."

He slit his own throat.

\---------------------------

_"Are you awake yet?"_

That voice was familiar.

"I don't know. Am I still dreaming?"

His companion didn't have an answer for him.

Pride opened his eyes.

He knelt on the wet ground, uncaring for the rain that poured on him. The other man was safe under an umbrella.

"Minhyuk... He... he's been suffering all this time, hasn't he?" he asked.

_"It is the price of his sin."_

"Bullshit." Pride scoffed. "It was all my fault, I should've been punished instead."

The other man stood quiet for a moment.

_"In a way, aren't you suffering too?"_

Pride looked up to the other Hyungwon, a Hyungwon clad in dark gray suit and trousers, who had rich burgundy hair.

"But you can fix it, right?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'M SORRY THIS IS KINDA SLOPPY??? I'M KINDA IN A PANIC BECAUSE THE COMEBACK IS NEARLY HERE AND I HAVEN'T FINISHED THIS YET WTF HELLO LIFE YES THANK YOU AND NOW I'M WOWED THAT THEIR CONCEPT IS LINKING THE MVs TOGETHER AND HOOOO BOI I'M TORN BECAUSE I DON'T WANNA TURN OUT TO BE A COPYCAT OR SOMETHING AND AT THE SAME TIME I'M LIKE HELL YESSSSS I TOLD Y'ALL!
> 
> please leave comments, please criticize all you want, please show me love idk, I'd like to know what you guys are expecting out of this brain fart of mine haha!
> 
> thanks for reading (and waiting)!
> 
> love y'all 💖

**Author's Note:**

> thank you to my hyunghyuk group chat mates  
> love ya girls


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